Familiar Fear, Similar Fate
by Griffin Stone
Summary: (Shidge for Gravtron1's anniversary!) After being captured by bounty hunters, Shiro and Pidge escape. As if bounty hunters and beasts from Shiro's past weren't enough, one of them being poisoned turns their situation into a race against time.


**A/N: This is for my incredibly awesome and talented (and best friend on this site) Gravtron1! It is her one year anniversary on this site! She loves Shidge, so I tried some Shidge for her!**

 **(It's mostly two self-sacrificing idiots almost getting themselves killed multiple times XD)**

 **I'd like to thank Running Ninja for her help in making this story medically accurate.**

* * *

Diplomatic missions were supposed to be boring. Go in, Allura would make some speech to the leader of the planet or tribe, the inhabitants usually threw a feast. Sometimes, there were other speeches involved, or a play, or -on one occasion- a parade. Lance liked that planet.

Diplomatic missions were _not_ supposed to involve bounty hunters crashing the feast in some wild attempt to capture the paladins to turn over to the Galra in hopes of glory or reward.

Diplomatic missions _really_ shouldn't have Pidge getting shot and Shiro getting knocked out when he stopped to help her, while the others were distracted with getting the royals to safety.

Diplomatic mission _most definitely, never ever,_ ended with said paladins thrown into the bounty hunters' ship and being carried off, with the ship vanishing into space before anyone could notice the missing paladins.

And yet, somehow, that is exactly what happened on the planet Inia.

* * *

Shiro woke with a groan. He blinked his eyes open to see a filthy metal ground at the end of his nose and instinctively rolled to his side. The motion caused the dull ache in his head to briefly flair, before settling into a steady throb. He raised his flesh hand to rub at his neck, feeling his fingers knock something loose to the floor.

Shiro squinted blearily at the tiny dart on the floor, then his body jolted upright. His gaze quickly scanned his surroundings.

He was in a small, metal room with a port-hole window across from him. There was nothing else in the room except for a green-armored figure sitting under the window and some sort of stick in the corner of the room.

"Shiro," Pidge said, voice oddly flat.

"Pidge, what-" Shiro broke off as memories of the attack flooded his mind.

He tried to shove himself to his knees, then had to attempt a second time when his prosthetic didn't respond. When he finally succeeded, he winced at how the act made his head spin.

Regardless, Shiro looked around some more, and saw the barred door to the room. Beyond the bars was the blank wall of a hall. He turned back to Pidge, remembering also her injury.

"How's the wound?" Shiro asked, crawling the few feet to sit beside her.

In response, Pidge lifted a bare hand streaked with red. The puncture in the right side of her underarmor had been covered with both of her gloves, so it was hard to tell if the bleeding had stopped.

"It isn't as bad as it could have been," Pidge said, still in that listless tone.

Shiro carefully moved the gloves and found that Pidge was right. There was a small hole in her side below the ribs, but the blood had already crusted over.

Shiro thought back to what he had seen of the injury before a small, sharp pain in his neck had turned everything black. The bounty hunters had used crossbows, oddly, and he did remember what had sure looked like a bolt in her side.

Wait. Shiro looked at the stick-like object in the corner. It had been a bolt. Pidge must have had to remove it herself.

Shiro replaced the gloves and looked at Pidge's face. He frowned at how unfocused the brown eyes were. They kept wandering past Shiro's face.

"Pidge," Shiro said. He waited until Pidge's eyes moved to him, then asked, "Were you hurt anywhere else?"

Pidge blinked. She had to think about it, then said, "No. Why?"

"Are you having trouble focusing?"

"A little." Pidge flushed. "I think shock is just kicking in."

Shiro gave her an encouraging smile. "Just take it easy. I'm going to check out the door."

Shiro started to stand, then stopped when his prosthetic still wouldn't respond. He glanced down, then groaned when he saw the glowing armband just above the elbow.

Pidge leaned forward, feeling more focused by the minute. "Where did they get an anti-tech band?"

"They're bounty hunters," Shiro said, trying in vain to flex the prosthetic. "They must have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves."

"Come here, I'll- ow!"

Pidge fell back against the wall, grabbing her right arm with a yelp of pain. She groaned at the pins-and-needles feeling in her limb.

"Pidge!"

Shiro was suddenly back to her side. Pidge hissed out through her teeth and shook her head.

"I'm fine. It must have been hit wrong when I fell." Pidge's eyes scrunched shut. "Just give me a tick."

"Don't move it anymore than you have to," Shiro said. He leaned back and activated his comms. "Paladins, come in."

There wasn't any response.

"They must have disabled those, too," Pidge grunted, rubbing her arm. "Also, my bayard's missing."

"We can't wait for the others to find us," Shiro decided. "Wait here."

Shiro went to the door and peered as far as he could in either direction. Seeing nothing, he listened. There were faint voices coming from the left, but that was all. There was a metal panel on the left side of the door, so Shiro reached out to feel the surface.

Shiro blinked, and felt again.

"You have got to be joking," Shiro said, starting to grin.

"What?" Pidge asked, straining her neck to try and see what Shiro meant.

"Hold on. This can't be right."

Shiro went to the discarded bolt and picked it up. He hefted it in his hand. If it was strong enough to pierce the paladin underarmor, it would be strong enough for his purpose.

"What is it?" Pidge asked.

"That door, doesn't operate with a hand pad. It has a lock. A regular lock," Shiro said.

"You can't be serious."

"Cross your fingers."

Shiro went back to the door and listened again. There wasn't any sounds from nearby, so he jammed the bolt into the lock. He held his breath, then wretched the bolt to the side. There was a creak and a snap, then the door swung open.

"This… you…" Pidge started looking around at the floor.

"What are you doing?" Shiro whispered as he ducked his head into the hall. There was no one in sight.

"Checking how much blood I lost. I've got to be hallucinating," Pidge said.

"Don't even joke about that, Katlyn," Shiro said, hurrying to Pidge's side.

"Okay, Takashi," Pidge said, mimicking Shiro by using his first name. They did that sometimes when they were alone.

"How's your side and arm?" Shiro asked.

"Side hurts, but I'll live. My arm's kind of numb."

"Good numb or bad?"

Pidge lowered her lids half-way at him. "There's a good numb?"

Shiro hesitated. "Yes."

Pidge blinked at him. "Well, I don't know. Let's just get out of here. Let me get off that band, first."

"Can't take the time. Once they decide to check on us, they'll see the door."

"Should have thought of that before you busted the door, Takashi," Pidge teased.

"Hush."

Shiro helped Pidge to her feet, then to the door. The hall to the right led to a blank wall, so that meant they had to go left. In the direction of the voices.

The pair made their cautious way down the hall. After ten feet, there was a doorway, from which the voices came. Beyond that, was another doorway that led to a hanger. There were several escape pods in view.

Shiro and Pidge exchanged excited glances, then Shiro motioned for Pidge to stay put. She pouted, but obeyed as Shiro sidled up to the doorframe and peeked in.

There were five of the bounty hunters in the small cockpit. Three were large and reptilian, there was a slim one with blue skin flying, and a large minotaur-like alien. They were all facing away from the door, laughing about their two prisoners that they planned to hand over to the Galra for a ransom.

Scowling, Shiro went back to Pidge. The pair hurried silently past the doorway and pressed themselves against the wall. When the bounty hunters made no sound of spotting them, they grinned to each other. They turned toward the hanger, then froze when a whiny voice spoke above the others.

"Hey, boss, are we gonna tell the Galra about what we did with the poison?"

Shiro and Pidge exchanged panicked looks. Poison?! They leaned closer to the door to listen.

There was a loud scoff, then an equally loud voice, "No, let them discover it on their own."

"Too bad we couldn't be there," a rough voice said with a snicker. "I'd love to see their faces when a paladin drops dead on them!"

"We'd be dead, then, too," said a second rough voice.

"We'll be cutting it close, boss," said the whiny voice.

"Give them a dose of antidote to hold off the symptoms until we are long gone," said the boss' loud voice. "When will the first bout of symptoms start?"

"Any dobosh now," said the whiny voice. "I almost feel sorry for him."

Shiro unconsciously sighed in relief. He was the one with the poison. He turned to Pidge and gestured toward the hanger. Pidge scowled and shook her head. Shiro pushed her down the hall and into the hanger. When he let go, she scowled at him.

'Later,' Shiro mouthed. They had to get away before symptoms started to show and he gave them away. Pidge glared, but she went to the only monitor in the room and started tapping.

Shiro shuddered as he wondered what kind of poison was in him. He glanced down the hall, wondering if he could find some antidote. He quickly discarded the idea. There wasn't any other rooms in site, and the bounty hunters likely had it with them in the cockpit, anyway.

Shiro turned his attention to the hold. There were racks for the crossbows, though all the racks but one were empty. Below the racks were bins holding a mess of ropes, crossbow bolts, and metal pieces of junk.

While digging through the bins to see if there was anything useful inside, Shiro caught a glimpse of green. He pulled out Pidge's bayard and grinned. The bounty hunters must not have realized what it was, if they had been so careless with it

Pidge's fingers froze, the absence of the barely noticeable tapping catching Shiro's attention. He scooped up the bayard and turned quickly to her, but she started typing again just as fast.

"What is it?" Shiro murmured, slipping down beside her.

"I found the info on the poison," Pidge whispered.

Shiro's throat clenched. "What is it?"

"You'll be fine until we reach the others," Pidge said.

Shiro glanced at her, startled by her response. Her voice had taken on that blank tone that had Shiro's concern spiking once again.

"Katlyn, what is it?"

Pidge dismissed the screen and used Shiro's shoulder to stand. "I have all the pods set to launch at the same time with random destinations. I hacked their sensors so they can't scan for heat signatures, too. Quick, get into the left one, I have it set to land on a planet near here."

Shiro shook off his concerns, trusting Pidge to do what was best. While Pidge scurried to the pod, Shiro tossed in a coil of rope and grabbed a crossbow plus a handful of bolts.

The paladins squeezed into the small pod. Shiro shoved the supplies into a small cabinet, then Pidge sealed the doors.

"Brace yourself. I've got this and one other pod to fly erratic, so they'll chase the empty third one," Pidge said, bracing her legs and good arm against the pod sides.

Shiro noticed Pidge's arm still hanging limp. "Katlyn-"

Pidge lifted her head and looked Shiro in the eyes. "I'm fine."

She was lying, Shiro knew it. But before he could further question her, the pod shot forward and the paladins were thrown against the wall.

A pained cry escaped Pidge before she could stop herself. Her arm had gone from numb to burning pain in a matter of ticks. She felt Shiro's arm wrap around her, steadying her while the pod shook wildly.

"What is it? Your side?" Shiro asked, teeth clattering from the shaking.

"Nope. Side's fine. Just the poi- er, feeling returning."

"The what? Poison? Katlyn, are you the one with the poison?!" Shiro demanded. "They said 'him,' though!"

Pidge could have kicked herself for letting it slip so soon. But the pain was making her head spin -or maybe it was just the pod- and she couldn't stop the words in time. She cocked her head back to give Shiro a weary grin.

"Wouldn't be the first time someone thought I was a boy."

"You said you were fine!"

"And I am… for the next six vargas," Pidge said.

"Katlyn!"

"Don't you trust the rest of the paladins to rescue us?" Pidge asked, managing an innocent grin that Shiro didn't buy for one second.

"When this is all done, we're having a talk about hiding things like this," Shiro muttered, tightening his hold on Pidge.

"Oof, I can't breathe, Takashi," Pidge teased.

"Don't change the subject," Shiro said.

A red light began to blink on the ceiling. Pidge tensed.

"Changing the subject again. This pod doesn't have any way to land," Pidge said.

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire," Shiro muttered.

"You sound like Lance right now," Pidge said. The light turned solid. "Ten seconds to impact!"

Shiro jammed his feet against the wall and hugged Pidge to his chest. Pidge wedged her feet between Shiro's and wrapped her good arm around Shiro's.

"Oh, and I don't know which side will hit-"

Pidge was cut off as the pod slammed top-first into something solid. The paladins were thrown into the ceiling-now-floor, both blacking out instantly.

* * *

Shiro's first waking thought was of Pidge. She was poisoned. She had six vargas to be rescued.

His second was the realization that he was on top of her.

"Katlyn!"

Shiro pushed himself up. His head smacked against something, making him wince, but he continued to struggle to his three functioning limbs. He looked quickly around, the pod lit dimly by an emergency red light.

Pidge was still unconscious, though she started to stir while Shiro watched. Her arms were tucked up around her head and her legs, while twisted beneath her, didn't appear to have any injuries.

"Katlyn," Shiro whispered, nudging her gently.

Pidge groaned and opened her eyes. She blinked up at Shiro, then creakily announced, "I can't feel my arm again."

"And your side?"

Pidge moved her good arm around for a minute, then said, "It's stopped bleeding, I think."

Shiro tried to get a look at the wound, but the pod was too dark. He had to find a way to get Pidge outside and into some light.

The pod rested on its side with the nose angled down, so the door was above Shiro's head. The cabinet was bent out of shape, and had been what Shiro had hit his head on.

Shiro grabbed the top of the ruined cabinet and hauled himself up, feet scrambling for purchase. When he was crouched on top, he was able to stand and reach the door. He pushed against it, but it was jammed.

Glancing down at Pidge, he warned, "Cover your face."

Pidge nodded and draped her arm across her face. Shiro braced himself and shoved his shoulder into the door. It broke free with a _snap_ and flew open, letting in dusty light.

Shiro looked at his frozen prosthetic and sighed. He leaped up and managed to get his upper body out of the pod and grab the outside with his flesh hand. He took a moment to make sure there was no immediate danger.

The pod had landed on a flat, gray stony plain. There were some stone columns in the distance ahead and a steep gully behind, but that was all.

Shiro's huff of relief turned into panic when his hand slipped. His legs kicked for something to grab onto, but only made him completely lose his grip.

Shiro's feet hit the slanted floor and skidded to the side. His prosthetic finally found a use as it was enough of an obstacle that Shiro's head didn't slam into the wall. Shiro tumbled to the ground in an ungraceful heap.

"I've seen better."

Shiro groaned and turned his head. Pidge had moved to perch on one of the seats and was grinning down at Shiro.

"Hard to climb with one hand," Shiro said. "I'm a little out of practice."

Pidge's smile wavered. "What?"

Shiro just blinked at her, aware of the uncomfortable topic he had just raised. He cleared his throat and tried to speak lightly.

"One-handed climbing is just something I learned in the Garrison."

No need to mention that the ability had been necessary as his right hand sometimes gave out on him in the middle of the climbing wall… or the movements in Galra prison when he had no right arm…

Pidge didn't need to hear that.

Pidge nodded, accepting the explanation. She stood on the seat, balancing easily even when the seat swiveled, and reached out to grab the handle of the cabinet.

"How did you even get up there with one arm?" Shiro asked as he tried to get his feet back under him.

"It's working again," Pidge said. "I figure I have another varga before I lose use again."

"How do you know?" Shiro asked slowly.

Pidge tapped her wrist-comp. "I downloaded all of the bounty hunters information."

"Including the antidote?"

Pidge nodded. "It looks like something Coran would have on the Castle. We just have to get their attention."

"Without attracting the bounty hunters," Shiro said thoughtfully.

"That's where I'll have to get creative," Pidge said with a grin.

"I didn't see anything outside. You'll have to be _really_ creative."

"I built a satellite in a trash nebula. This'll be a piece of cake."

"This place is a little more sparse than a trash nebula."

"You doubt my abilities, Takashi?"

"Never."

"Good."

Pidge braced her feet and jerked back on the cabinet handles. The chair swung under her and Shiro fearfully raised his hand, but she kept her balance as the door was wretched open. The crossbow, Pidge's bayard, rope, and bolts fell onto Shiro, who grunted and uselessly raised a hand to fend off the supplies.

"Oops. Toss me up the rope, could you?"

Shiro did as Pidge asked, then threw up her bayard as well. While Shiro crouched and started putting the meager supplies into a pile, Pidge formed her energy whip and shot it outside. The whip grabbed onto something and held when Pidge tugged on it, so she put the coil of rope over her shoulder and scrambled outside.

Pidge stood and scanned the gray landscape. Shiro hadn't been exaggerating about there being nothing there.

"We might be able to find cover around those columns," Shiro said as he dug through a compartment in the floor at the back of the pod. "There's some blankets, rations, two-way radios, and a backpack in here."

"I always loved the idea of camping," Pidge said.

"We can come back and try it someday," Shiro said with a chuckle.

"Sounds good," Pidge said, searching for a secure section of the pod to tie the rope around. "You go camping much? Maybe with Keith, he seems like the camping type. Something tells me that he makes the campfires."

"Not really with Keith," Shiro said. "He never did like campfires."

Pidge tied one end of the rope to a bar on the pod's side. "Seriously?"

"It's true." Shiro started packing the rest of the supplies into the pack. "Strange as it sounds, he is… wary of fire. Don't tell him I told you that, and I'm serious this time."

Shiro did sound like he meant it, so Pidge just filed away that bit of information. She tossed the end of the rope into the pod. Shiro took the rope and climbed out beside Pidge. While she untied the rope, Shiro took a few ticks to check their surroundings again.

The planet felt familiar to Shiro, but he couldn't think of why. All he came up with was that one uninhabited planet looked like another.

Shiro then checked the sky and was relieved to find no signs of the bounty hunters. Hopefully, Pidge's decoy was enough to keep them away for a long time.

"Come here," Pidge said. "I need to get that thing off your arm."

"Cover first," Shiro said.

Pidge frowned at him, but accepted the decision. She slid down the side of the pod and landed on the ground with a thud. Shiro was right behind her, stumbling a bit as the pack and deadweight arm threw him off balance.

"Need me to get the pack?" Pidge asked. She wasn't surprised when Shiro shook his head. "Fine. Which way?"

Shiro glanced into the gully behind them. It held the best chance of finding cover and it might have been formed from water that the paladins could always use. It was rather steep, though, and the high sides would create interference for whatever communication device that Pidge put together.

While Shiro thought, he saw a shadow flash across the gully's floor. He automatically checked the sky, but the shadow had come from the gully. Nothing came into view, but Shiro didn't feel like risking meeting a hostile creature.

Shiro nodded toward the columns. It was more open, but they would have better vantage points for whoever came after them, friend or foe.

Pidge trotted ahead, stopping occasionally to stretch her arms or legs.

"What are you doing?" Shiro asked when he caught up to her while she was attempting to touch her toes.

"Keeping loose," Pidge grunted. "Everything's stiff."

"If you need to stop-"

"No, if I stop now, it will just get worse." Pidge straightened and stomped her feet.

"Wait," Shiro said, holding out a hand before Pidge could take another step.

Pidge shot him an irritated look. "Haven't you been listening that I can't stop?"

"No, not that."

Shiro dropped the pack and knelt to press his ear to the ground. The ground had sounded hollow when Pidge stomped, and Shiro noticed a muffled bubbling.

"What is it?" Pidge asked.

"I'm not sure."

Shiro grabbed the pack and pulled out the crossbow. He loaded a bolt and shot. The bolt stabbed into the ground ten feet away.

For a tick, nothing happened.

"Okay, that was-"

The rest of Pidge's sentence was lost as a geyser erupted from the ground where the bolt had landed. The paladins jerked back.

"Geysers?!" Pidge exclaimed.

"We can't go that way," Shiro said, pulling Pidge backward.

"No, duh. I rather like the idea of being steamed to death."

Shiro frowned at her. "Don't even joke about dying."

Pidge was about to sarcastically ask why not, since she was, technically, dying anyway, but she noticed how upset Shiro looked. She nodded to Shiro and followed him back to the pod.

"I think the geysers are just in the plain," Shiro said, dropping the pack. "If we climbed into the gully, we should be fine."

"There should be some decent cover in there, as well," Pidge said. "It's kind of steep."

"Hopefully, if the bounty hunters find this pod, they will think we didn't go down there as well," Shiro said.

"True. I'll use my bayard, but what about you?"

"The rope isn't long enough. I'll free-climb."

Pidge glanced from the hundred-foot climb to Shiro. "You could fall."

"My jetpack will slow me enough if I do."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "If you are going to insist on climbing, then let me get your prosthetic functioning. And before you say that there isn't time, I'd rather take the time to do it now, then have to scrape you off the gully floor. Keith would kill me if I let anything happen to you."

Shiro raised his arm in surrender. "Okay, say no more."

Pidge nodded smugly and grabbed the prosthetic. She pulled a cable from her gauntlet and attached it to the band.

"How long will this take?" Shiro asked, nervously scanning around them.

"Give me a dobosh," Pidge mumbled. "It's an easy hack. Just hold still."

Shiro stopped fidgeting and let Pidge work. He stared across the plain, which now had a couple geysers spouting since the paladins disturbed the ground.

It all still felt familiar. He'd come across plenty of empty places like this -the desert around the Garrison even came to mind- but this place made him on edge. He felt like there was something creeping up on them, but when he looked over his shoulder, there was nothing.

A scratching sound had Shiro's head jerking back around. Pidge grunted her protest and grabbed his arm, but Shiro barely noticed as a massive paw lifted over the edge of the gully. It was soon followed by another, then a snarling face came into view.

The creature was reptilian with four wild red eyes. It had huge tusks on either side of its fanged mouth. It's skin was wrinkled and purple.

It was also very familiar to Shiro.

"Katlyn, we have to go!"

Shiro tried to jerk away, but Pidge grabbed his arm and refused to budge. Shiro looked from Pidge to the creature, who had fully risen from the gully and started to charge.

"Just a tick!" Pidge said.

"We don't have a tick!" Shiro yelled, seriously considering grabbing Pidge and jumping into the gully.

"Don't move!"

The ground shook as the creature barrelled closer. Shiro froze, eyes widening. Before Shiro could move or the creature could reach them, Pidge yelped.

"It's off!"

"Get down!"

With the creature practically on top of them, Shiro shoved down on Pidge's shoulder with his flesh hand. In the same movement, he swung up his prosthetic is it powered up, smashing the creature in the face and making it tumble off to the side.

Pidge, on her hands and knees, stared at the beast scrambling to stand. "What-"

Shiro didn't let her finish. He grabbed her around the middle with his flesh arm and hurdled them both off the edge of the gully. Pidge shrieked, but still managed to get her bayard up and formed the whip. She shot out the energy whip and it stabbed into the walls. Shiro grabbed the whip with his free hand and they were jerked to a stop halfway down the wall.

"What was that?" Pidge panted.

"I think Lance decided to call them LOVP's when I last described them."

Pidge jerked her head to the side. "Lizards of Vast Proportions? _Those_ are the things that almost ate you and Keith?!"

The LOVP's head appeared over the edge and snarled. Pidge flinched and dismissed the bayard. Between his jetpack and digging his prosthetic into the wall, Shiro was able to slow their descent enough to the ground. The creature began to climb down the wall after them.

Putting Pidge down, Shiro activated his arm.

Well, he tried to. It hummed and flickered, then the glow died. While the band was gone, it must have had lingering effects on it.

Shiro stared at his arm in alarm, then looked at Pidge. "Run."

The two paladins bolted as the LOVP crashed to the ground behind them and began to pursue. They only made it a half dozen steps before Pidge cried out and stumbled. Shiro was quick to catch her arm, but Pidge abruptly went limp instead of straightening.

"Katlyn?" Shiro ground to a stop and crouched. "Katie?!"

The beast howled in triumph and leaped. Shiro scooped Pidge up and rolled to the side, coming up to his feet. His head whipped back-and-forth for an escape, eyes finally landing on a small crack in the wall across the gully.

Shiro burst into a run at the same time that the LOVP turned and swung a paw. Shiro dodged out of range. He sprinted into the gap, twisting his body sideways in order to fit. He performed an unsteady sort of skip/hop to ensure they were far out of range before slowing down.

After a dobosh, he reached a section of the split that widened to the size of a small room. He gave it a quick check, then laid Pidge down and finally got to check her.

The wound had started bleeding again. Shiro groaned at the sight of the fresh blood, then pressed his hand against it. Pidge, eyes closed and apparently unconscious, gave a small whine.

"I know, Katlyn. I know it hurts, just hang in there," Shiro said soothingly.

Disturbingly, Pidge didn't respond. Her breathing was labored and she felt altogether tense. A quick double-check found that she hadn't lost enough blood to be so out of it.

Shiro was starting to feel tense himself. The strain of fighting and running while carrying Pidge had strained his muscles and he could feel them clenching against his will. His arm automatically activated enough to send a small electrical surge that made his body briefly clench before allowing the muscles to relax.

Shiro turned his attention back to Pidge. He frowned when he realized that Pidge's condition had only worsened.

"Katlyn? Hey, Katie, snap out of it. You're okay." Shiro put a hand on Pidge's shoulder. "Just-"

Even under the armor, Shiro could feel how hard Pidge's muscles were. He grabbed her arm and tried to move it, but only succeeded in a small movement and a groan from Pidge.

Shiro thought back to what Pidge had said on the plain about feeling stiff and that she had to keep moving. He had put it to nervous energy, but now he knew that it was true! Everything was tense including, if her breathing was any indication, her lungs!

"Katie!" Shiro shook Pidge harshly, needing to get her awake and moving.

"T'shi!" Pidge wailed. "I' hrt!"

"I know it hurts, but you have to get moving," Shiro insisted, trying to get Pidge to sit up.

Pidge groaned, breath stuttering in a way that had Shiro holding his breath. He looked helplessly around. There wasn't anyone or anything to help him!

Shiro could feel his own muscles protesting and starting to clench. He groaned in frustration, then was struck by an idea that was both obvious and against his better judgement.

But with Pidge wincing and moaning beside him, it was the only idea he had.

"This is going to hurt," Shiro warned. "But only for a tick, okay? I promise."

Pidge mumbled in what might have been agreement, so Shiro took it as an okay. Concentrating, he managed to activate his arm to a low electrical setting that he had only had to use on his own muscles. He pulled off her body armor and, muttering another apology, Shiro pressed his arm to Pidge's chest.

Pidge's entire body jerked. Shiro pulled his hand back at the same time that Pidge gasped. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly, coughing.

"Woah, easy!"

Shiro pressed his hands to Pidge's back to help support her while her coughing slowed. When she got it under control, she was once again breathing normally.

"What… happened?" Pidge asked, panting slightly.

"I don't know. Your muscles all froze up and you weren't breathing right."

Pidge winced. "I thought I had longer."

"You knew that would happen?" Shiro asked, unable to keep from sounding accusing.

"It wasn't supposed to happen for a while!"

Pidge chewed on her lip as she stood and started to pace. Shiro let her, not wanting her muscles to freeze up again.

"Katlyn, you have to explain what is happening, so I can help."

"It's the poison," Pidge said, frowning in distress. "It makes my muscles tense up."

Shiro stared at Pidge, waiting.

"It's supposed to just affect my arms and legs for the most part, but… it will spread eventually…" Pidge trailed off.

"To your lungs?" Shiro asked, voice cracking slightly.

"Sooner or later," Pidge all but whispered. "I was hoping for later. How did you get me breathing again, anyway?"

Shiro raised his prosthetic. "I had to shock you. Sorry."

"Hey, I'm breathing so I can't complain. But, how did you know it would work?"

"It felt right?" Shiro said, knowing that he said it like a question.

Pidge raised an eyebrow, but brushed off his tone. "I just don't get why it happened so soon."

"It must have been the shock and then not moving for a few doboshes," Shiro decided. "The blood loss isn't helping, I'm sure."

Pidge blinked and looked down at her side. She stopped walking. For a few ticks, Pidge and Shiro could only stare at the wound.

"I'm not going to stop bleeding if I keep moving," Pidge said.

"And you won't be able to breath if you don't keep moving," Shiro put in.

A few more ticks of silence passed, in which Pidge shook her head and sighed. "This is useless. I'm less likely to kill myself by keeping moving."

"I'm not sure I like your wording."

"It's the truth, Takashi."

In the following silence, Shiro reached for the pack, only to remember that he had left it near the pod.

"What kind of range do you think those radios had?"

"Not enough," Pidge said distractedly. "And even if they did, the bounty hunters are more likely to find us first."

"What about the trackers in our suits?"

"If the others haven't found us yet, the trackers must have been disabled as well," Pidge said. "And the bounty hunters can't use them; I made sure that only the Castle and lions could."

Shiro squinted thoughtfully. "I should check outside. See if the lions are near."

"Not with that LOVP out there," Pidge said, still pacing.

"It's a risk I'll have to take. We need the rations inside."

"But you can't even defend yourself!"

"I'll make do," Shiro said.

Pidge sighed. She replaced her armor and started working on her wrist-comp. Taking that as permission to leave, Shiro turned and made his cautious way down the narrow tunnel. When he was close to the opening, he stopped.

While he didn't spot any LOVP's, he knew they could be surprisingly stealthy and that they traveled in packs. He was lucky to have found a deep enough cave to hide Pidge away, as he didn't think she could run far.

Shiro crept out and quickly checked every direction before jogging in the direction that the pod was. When he reached the wall right under it, he paused to glance around again.

When he saw that there was still nothing, he used his jetpack in short bursts and climbed the gully wall by jumping from ledge to ledge.

Shiro peeked over the edge of the gully and saw nothing. He pulled himself up and crept to where the pack had fallen. He crouched slowly, head darting in all directions, then straightened with a frown.

He didn't think the LOVP would give up so quickly. It shouldn't have; he and Pidge weren't nearly threatening enough for the LOVP to decide they weren't worth the effort. The creatures were too smart, he knew, so it had to have some trap.

Unease tightened Shiro's throat. He had to get back to Pidge!

Without wasting another tick, Shiro spun raced back to the gully. His controlled slide to the ground was less in control than he normally would, but he kept his feet under him.

As he ran for the tunnel, there was a loud roar from ahead. Shiro's heart dropped when he realized its source: the tunnel!

Shiro threw himself into the tunnel, but had to pull himself up short of the small room when he realized it was full of light. The back wall was completely gone!

"Katie!" Shiro yelled, as the youngest paladin wasn't in sight.

A purple paw reached into the cave, making Shiro dodge further back. The paw slapped around the cave, leaving massive gouges in the walls.

Shiro moved back before the LOVP could realize that he was there. But his own safety was far from his mind, his only concern being for Pidge.

Shiro stumbled into the gully. He stopped to look both ways, but there wasn't anything in sight.

"Katlyn, where are you?"

* * *

"Takashi, where are you?" Pidge hissed under her breath.

The green paladin was pressed up against the stone wall blocking her from the LOVP's sight. When the beast had broken into the cave, Pidge had run past it by sheer luck. While the beast continued to dig at the cave for its missing prey, Pidge took refuge a short distance away.

Pidge tried to steady her breathing as she pressed a hand to her side. It wasn't bleeding, but Pidge knew that wouldn't be the case for long if she had to make a run for it. Her right arm had also gone numb again, and dangled uselessly at her side.

Pidge dared to peek around the wall, then jerked back when she realized that the LOVP had turned in her direction.

" _Quiznak!"_ Pidge thought as heavy footfalls approached.

Pidge eyed the steep walls of the new gully she had been forced into. She knew she couldn't outrun the beast in search of a new cave, but maybe she could get out of the gully fast enough to get a bit of a lead and go from there.

A paw whipping around the edge of the wall made up Pidge's mind. She spun away, ignoring the pull on her side and summoned her bayard. She formed and shot the energy whip, which grabbed the wall halfway up. She jerked herself into the air, feeling claws brush her armored feet. She landed hard against the wall and immediately released the whip while kicking up and activating her jetpack. She barely reached the top of the gully before her jetpack failed and sent her crashing to the ground.

"Ow!" Pidge yelped as she rolled.

She pushed herself unsteadily to her feet, wincing at the fresh wet warmth running down her skin, then made herself start running.

"Katlyn!"

The distant voice made Pidge jump. Stumbling slightly, she looked to the left to see Shiro across the gully. He was running along with her, head darting from her to something behind her.

Shiro made a "come here" motion and yelled, "Jump over here!"

"You're kidding!" Pidge shouted back. A crash and roar from behind probably meant that the LOVP had reached the top. "My jetpack can't go that far!"

Shiro pointed ahead. Pidge looked, and saw that the gully narrowed ahead before ending. She turned her head back to Shiro and saw him making a motion to indicate him jumping to her.

Pidge checked behind her and saw the LOVP yards away from her and gaining steadily. She grunted and activated her jetpack enough for a long lunge, giving her a little more room. She continued with the jumps, just barely able to keep ahead of the beast.

She was fast approaching the narrower section of the bully, but could feel herself slowing. Her arm and wound were dragging her down. If it wasn't for the jetpack, she knew she would have already fallen.

"Katie, here I come!"

At the same time as Shiro's shout, Pidge landed from a jump. Her legs abruptly gave out on her, sending her sprawling. She flipped onto her back, eyes widening as the LOVP leaped.

Shiro grabbed her from the side, jetpack going at full power. The LOVP's paw struck Shiro in the back, throwing the pair ten feet. Pidge gasped when they hit, despite Shiro curling his body under hers to shield her from the ground.

Shiro rolled, putting Pidge on the ground and standing in one move. His arm whirred and weakly activated, but it was enough. When Shiro punched it, the LOVP staggered to the gully's edge. The stone crumbled beneath it, sending it tumbling back to the gully floor.

Shiro's arm immediately went dark. He started to turn.

"Katlyn, can you-"

"I can run," Pidge said through grit teeth, already to her feet when Shiro turned. "Come on!"

Fresh blood coated her armor, but Pidge was moving on her own, so Shiro bit back a protest. The pair sprinted on and slid down into the next gully they came across. Spurned by an angry roar from behind, they ducked into a tunnel. Once they were deep enough in, they collapsed.

"How… how are… you?" Shiro asked after half a dobosh of just panting.

"I'm good," Pidge huffed. "You? That thing hit you hard."

"Armor took the brunt of it."

Shiro still winced as he sat up, feeling as though his spine had been knocked out of place. He dragged off the pack and dropped it between him and Pidge. He wearily took out a water packet and handed it to Pidge before taking one for himself.

After a bit to recover, Shiro stood and peered down the tunnel. It went on for a fair distance, so Shiro didn't think their refuge could be broken in from the back again. There was snarling and scraping from the entrance, but it was far enough away that Shiro wasn't concerned.

"Looks like we'll be doing some camping after all," Shiro said. He took off his helmet and angled it at the ceiling. "Not exactly a campfire, but it's light. I wonder how Keith made a fire last time…"

Pidge stood and started swinging her left arm. Shiro glanced at her, remembering that her right arm hadn't moved since the chase.

"Did you hurt your arm?"

"It went numb again." Pidge stomped her right foot and frowned. "I think it's working on my leg now. It's tingling."

"No more running," Shiro promised. "We'll lay low here until the others arrive."

* * *

Two long vargas passed. Pidge's side stopped bleeding finally and she didn't have any major fits like she had after the first run, but she was much too pale for Shiro's liking. Her arm alternated between numb, pained, and normal, and she had lost most of the feeling in her right leg as well.

To keep her moving, Shiro supported her right side and helped her pace.

He pointedly ignored is own aching back and grinding in his chest that was probably a broken rib or two. He knew his armor could keep the ribs in place for a time. His arm remained dark, and a quick check by Pidge found it to be extremely low on power. Once the power was gone, his arm would deactivate until they could find a way to recharge it.

"I need to see if it's still out there," Shiro said eventually. A previous check had found that the tunnel only had one exit: the same place that they had entered.

"I can take care of myself for ten ticks," Pidge teased, nudging her head against Shiro's.

Shiro chuckled and helped her sit on a small ledge in the wall. She started kicking her legs the best she could and, since her right arm was currently functioning, pulled up a holo-screen.

Leaving her to it, Shiro crept down the tunnel. Once he was close, Shiro's spirits dropped.

A LOVP was crouched in front of the opening, and there were two more wrestling behind it. None of them appeared to be bored or ready to leave.

Shiro craned his neck for a glimpse of the sky, but he was too far back and couldn't risk getting any closer to the snarling beast. He quickly backtracked to Pidge and sat cross-legged in front of his helmet.

"Still there?" Pidge asked, still typing and swinging her legs.

"Yes." Shiro's eyes glanced at Pidge. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine," Pidge said simply. "Oh, and I got our comms working again." Pidge lifted her head. "Just between the two of us. The signal isn't strong enough to reach the others yet."

Shiro lifted his arm and saw that Pidge had remotely repaired his wrist-comp. A flashing light in the corner notified him that Pidge had sent him some sort of data.

"The recipe for the antidote," Pidge explained without prompting. "Just in case. I cross-referenced the ingredients with the Castle's inventory that Coran loaded into my armor, and everything is there."

Pidge sounded so calm, she might as well have been talking about one of Hunk's new recipes. But she was shaking.

"Everything will be fine," Shiro said lowly.

"I know that," Pidge said, rolling her eyes. She scowled as her shaking fingers pressed the wrong button. "Quiznak, why do these buttons have to be so close?"

Shiro watched her struggle and decided to be blunt. "How much longer?"

"It should be at least three vargas," Pidge said, still nonchalant.

"'Should?'"

"Between my size, blood loss, and all the running around I've had to do, I think the poison is spreading faster."

Shiro blinked. How could she sound so calm about it?

Shiro suddenly remembered her father, Sam Holt. The older man had never panicked in the face of trouble. He had gone into what Matt call "scientist mode," which kept him calm and let him think rationally about the situation. Pidge must have been doing the same with her own body.

"I've been comparing the poison to Earth poisons, and found nothing," Pidge went on. "I've moved onto diseases. There could be basic treatment to keep the effects from spreading as fast. Maybe you should shock me again."

"It won't help with the numbness."

Pidge's fingers paused as her eyes lifted. "You have a point. Probably a bad idea to shoot electricity into something numb, anyway."

"Probably."

The pair lapsed into silence. Pidge went back to her typing. Shiro noticed that her right leg has stopped moving. He was about to ask her about it, when Pidge hummed.

"Hey, my symptoms are similar to a type of muscular dystrophy back on Earth." She grimaced. "Yikes, low survival rate."

Shiro's head reared back. "Maybe you shouldn't be reading that."

"I'm a scientist. We need all the details, no matter how…" Pidge didn't finish her sentence, instead speaking aloud as she scanned the information. "Very rare. Patients with it from birth never made it past childhood… older patients lost the use of limbs within five years and have not made it past ten years after the onset of the disease."

"The symptoms can worsen more quickly from extreme stress, either physical or emotional. Most common symptom was spasming muscles, but usually included numbness, breathing issues, growth problems…" Pidge smirked. "Hear that, Takashi? As if Lance didn't have enough to tease me about being short."

Shiro grunted, only half-listening to the dreary information.

"There… there is no cure." Pidge cleared her throat. "On Earth, for the _disease_ , but there are treatments that helped increase the patient's health and lifespan. Huh, the most common being electro-stimulation. Makes sense, with the whole stiff muscles…" Pidge trailed off thoughtfully, before continuing again.

"The disease is called tre… thea- actually, I'm not going to even try. I think my tongue is numb," Pidge chuckled.

Shiro glanced up, focusing on Pidge again. What had she been saying…?

"Due to its rarity, it is most often referred to the other name that has come from the most recent patient who had it for eight years before dying of natural causes. It's call-"

Shiro quickly leaned forward and clamped his flesh hand onto Pidge's wrist-comp, turning off the holo-screen and stopping Pidge.

But Pidge had already seen the rest of the sentence.

"The Shirogane Syndrome?" Pidge looked at Shiro's hand, then at his pained face. "Takashi?"

"Yes."

"Are you-"

"I said yes," Shiro snapped, turning his head away.

"B-but, I thought there was no cure."

Shiro sighed and lowered his head. "There isn't."

Pidge didn't speak. Eventually, Shiro spoke again.

"I wore a special band that gave me the electro-stimulation I needed. I lost it in the Galra prisons, but this… this arm has kept me alive since. That is how I knew what to do earlier when your lungs stopped working. But, yes," Shiro lifted his head, "I was never cured."

The new information had Pidge gaping at Shiro.

"Katlyn?" Shiro said after an uncomfortable dobosh of silence. He jiggled the wrist that he still held. "Hey, are you there?"

"You're dying!" Pidge yelped, startling Shiro so that he jerked his arm back. Pidge's own arm fell limp, but she barely noticed. "How- how long have you known?!"

"Since I was nineteen?" Shiro said weakly.

"Takashi!" Pidge tried to shove herself to her feet for emphasis, but only managed in pushing herself to the floor.

"Katie!"

Pidge rolled onto her side and slapped away Shiro's helping hands. She pushed herself up onto her good elbow and glared.

Shiro froze. Pidge looked downright murderous.

"Who knows?" Pidge demanded.

"Knows?"

"About your disease!"

"On the team? Only you right now."

"Not even Keith knows?!" Pidge yelled.

"He didn't need to!" Shiro said, trying and failing to sound authoritative.

"Whatever happened to no secrets between the team?" Pidge accused.

"There wasn't anything anyone could do," Shiro said.

"How do you know?"

"Because the Galra tried!"

Silence fell abruptly in the tunnel.

"What?"

The single word from Pidge was quiet, barely more than a breath. She was shaking.

"The Galra didn't want their 'champion' to die outside the arena," Shiro said, once again turning his face away. "They tried to cure the disease, but nothing worked. When I lost my arm, they found a way to keep me alive with their own technology, but never a cure."

"Maybe Coran…?"

"I've already been in their healing pods, Katlyn," Shiro said wearily. "I thought it was over when I came out, but… it is not. It's still there."

"But… you…" Pidge started panting. "N-never… said."

"Katie?" Shiro sat forward. "Calm down and breathe."

Pidge's mouth moved, but no more words came out. Her chest heaved and twitched, but…

She wasn't breathing.

Shiro lunged forward as Pidge's eyes rolled back. Her body slumped forward, but Shiro was able to catch her and laid her gently down. He repeated the action of activating his arm, jerking off Pidge's armor, and pressing his hand to her chest. For a chilling half-tick, nothing happened, then Pidge surged up with a choked gasp.

Shiro knelt and held Pidge to his chest, listening to her pant and stumble over her words as she asked for an explanation.

"That was… was stupid," Pidge said, breathing harshly as if she had just run a marathon. "Your… arm. C-can't have much power… left."

Shiro shushed her. "I'm sure the team is almost here, and they will get my arm powered up again. It's more important that you keep breathing."

"I… I don't think-"

Shiro cut in. "We've got three vargas, remember?"

"Takashi." Pidge clasped Shiro's hand in her good one. "I don't… don't have th-three vargas."

"Yes, you do," Shiro said, almost pleading.

"I can't feel my legs," Pidge said simply.

A crash and screech from outside had both paladins looking up. They glanced at each other, then Shiro scooped Pidge up and moved quickly up the tunnel.

Once the outside came into view, Shiro spotted the LOVP's running away and dodging laser blasts. Shiro grinned. The team had found them! With that thought in mind, he rushed outside with Pidge.

In the next tick, he was scrambling backward into the tunnel again.

"What-"

"Bounty hunters," Shiro answered Pidge. "They found us."

Pidge clamped her jaws shut. Shiro pressed his back to the wall and peered cautiously out. The bounty hunters had gathered around their landed ship.

"A clever ploy!" bellowed the large boss. "Launching three pods. Might have kept us away for a time… if it hadn't been for security cameras."

Pidge tried to facepalm, but just slapped herself messily across her face. Shiro raised his brows in concern at her sudden lack of coordination.

"Sloppy," Pidge muttered moodily through her hand.

"Katlyn," Shiro whispered. "Are… are you okay?"

"B-besides the obv-vious... just perky," Pidge said, moving her clumsy hand down to her chest.

Shiro lowered his head, listening to Pidge's erratic breathing. Her left hand clenched and unclenched on her chest, but her other hand was still and dangled from Shiro's hold. She wasn't recovering like she had from the first fit.

Talking from outside caught Shiro's attention, and he glanced away from Pidge. The whole group of bounty hunters were watching the tunnel opening.

"We know you are in there, paladins!" the boss called. "And I know you have learned of the poison in the small one. Come on out, there's no escape!"

"Th-they're bluffing," Pidge said. Her words were jerky with her breaths and she felt like something was pressing down on her chest, but she forced out, "They c-can't know… know that th-there's onl-ly one… one exit."

"Maybe, but it's the truth," Shiro murmured.

"We have the antidote," said the blue-skinned, whiny-faced one. "If he doesn't have it, he will die in three vargas."

"H-he's wrong," Pidge said firmly. "Th-the others are… are c-coming."

Shiro didn't focus on the poison in Pidge, distracting himself with another thought. "If they know we are here, why don't they come after us?"

"T-too narrow," Pidge said.

"Only one could come at a time," Shiro realized.

It was their one advantage. If the bounty hunters could only attack in single file, Shiro would be able to fend them off. Not forever, but he could injure the bounty hunters before they overwhelmed him.

Unfortunately, the bounty hunters had all the time in the world to wait them out.

Shiro shifted closer to the wall and waited to see if the bounty hunters would leave on their own. Maybe that had been bluffing about knowing the paladins were inside.

"I'm getting tired of waiting!" the boss bellowed. "Come without a fight, and I'll let you both live!"

Pidge gave a strange sound that should have been a chuckle, but came out as more of a wheeze. "L-liar."

"I'll even give the small one the antidote," the boss went on.

"S-so I'm a-alive when… when the Ga-Galra get ah-hold of m-me?" Pidge huffed. "N-no thanks."

Shiro shushed her. "Save your breath." He coughed, feeling a bit short of breath himself.

"In fact, I'm feeling extra generous today," the boss said. "If you both surrender peacefully, I'll let the little one go free."

Shiro was already moving before he fully processed the words, but was stopped by a fist thumping him weakly on the chest.

"D-don't you… you d-dare, Ta...Takash-shi" Pidge said, trying to dissuade Shiro, but her stumbling words had the opposite effect.

"This is a limited time offer!" the boss shouted.

Shiro clutched Pidge closer. "I'm sorry, Katie."

He stepped outside.

The bounty hunters didn't react, aside from a smirk forming on the boss' face. While the lizard bounty hunters raised crossbows, the boss motioned Shiro forward.

Shiro began to walk toward the bounty hunters, ignoring Pidge's breathy cries. She was writhing in his grasp, but too weak to get free.

When Shiro was halfway to the bounty hunters, the boss' smile changed into something devious and sick. Shiro froze, wondering if he had just made a huge mistake.

"So trusting," the boss sneered. "Shoot them both."

Time seemed to slow to Shiro as bolts were shot from the three crossbows. Too close, too fast. No time to dodge, even to shield Pidge.

Shiro's eyes closed.

He didn't feel the pain of the bolts striking, though. He heard a startled yell, but it was covered by a large crash. The ground shook, sending Shiro to his knees. His eyes shot open and, when he saw what had happened, laughter that was half sob burst out of his throat.

Green's paw had landed between the paladins and bounty hunters. Her head was tucked down and around them. When Shiro turned his head, he saw Black in the same position behind them.

"The lions, Katie, the lions!" Shiro cried, too relieved to care how little sense he made.

Shiro tipped his head back in time to see Red shoot across the sky. Blue and Yellow was right on his tail, all roaring a challenge.

"Green," Pidge breathed.

Shiro's comms staticked, then he heard Keith's voice. "Shiro! Are you two okay?"

"Ye-no. Pidge was poisoned," Shiro said, automatically switching to Pidge's name most used by her teammates.

"What?!" Everyone's voices shrieked.

"I'll explain later," Shiro said. He struggled to stand, but fell back to his knees, coughing "The bounty hunters-"

"Are running with their tail between their legs," Lance said.

"We've got your back," Hunk added.

"Shiro, what's wrong with you?" Keith asked as Shiro caught his breath.

"Nothing."

Shiro finally managed to stand. He recognized the stiffness in his limbs and his tight lungs, but his arm lacked the power for any electro-stimulation.

He shook his head and tightened his hold on Pidge, whose eyes had closed after seeing Green. He had to get her medical attention. Shiro started for Black, but the lion pulled back his head. Red landed in front of them and dropped his head. His mouth opened.

"Get in," Keith said. "Red will get you back quickest."

Shiro panted out his thanks. He hadn't known how he would fly, since he didn't want to put Pidge down even for a tick.

"Coran, I'm sending you the antidote," Shiro said as he stumbled into Red's mouth. "I… I don't know how much longer she has."

Shiro tuned out the concerned murmurs and the sensation of Red lifting into the sky. He worked his clumsy fingers on his wrist-comp and set the data to Coran.

Or maybe Allura. The buttons _were_ rather close.

Pidge was too pale and unresponsive. Her breathing was harsh and unsteady. He could not feel her pulse but, if her blue-tinted fingertips was any indication, her heart was struggling.

Shiro was afraid that, as close as they were, Pidge couldn't hold on long enough. So, he did the only thing he could think of.

He repositioned Pidge to hold her with only his flesh arm. His prosthetic grasped Pidge's limp hand and squeezed.

Focusing on what little power remained in the arm, Shiro forced it into electricity. Not into his body, but through his hand and into Pidge.

Pidge barely twitched, but her eyelids fluttered open. She drew a ragged breath and weakly squeezed Shiro's hand laying limp on her stomach.

"T… dashi?" she breathed.

"You're g-gonna be… fine." Quiznak, Shiro couldn't catch his breath.

Even half-conscious, Pidge caught the quiver. "You…"

A tiny shudder ran through Red as he landed, but it was enough to throw Shiro off-balance. He fell to his knees, and barely caught himself on his working elbow.

"Shiro!"

Someone yelled his name. Keith was suddenly in front of him, grabbing and shaking him. His eyes darted from Shiro to Pidge, then he shouted over his shoulder for a stretcher.

"Sh-Shiro," Pidge said, switching names like Shiro had done. "Pro...promise m-me."

Shiro shook his head. "No… no dying w-wishes."

A mischievous gleam appeared in Pidge's tired eyes. Someone grabbed Pidge, but Shiro determinedly held on.

"Idiot," Pidge breathed. "I'm… m-making sur-sure… you k-keep it."

Shiro's chest heaved for one word. "Y-yes."

Pidge's lungs were tight, but she could see Shiro's physical struggle as well. She felt like if she didn't make him promise, that he wouldn't be there when this was all over. He -they- needed the promise to ground them both.

So, forcing her exhausted body, Pidge formed her words and coughed them out. "No… more se… secrets f-from… the t-team."

Shiro knew exactly what she was talking about. He wanted to protest that it would only make them worry, but had to admit it was a pathetic excuse.

"Pr...promise," Shiro rasped.

Pidge nodded.

And then she was gone.

Shiro blinked at his empty hands. It took a few ticks to realize that someone had finally gotten Pidge out of his grasp. He drew a ragged breath and coughed, eyes squeezing shut at the stab of pain in his chest.

"Shiro!"

Shiro forced his eyes open to a white-and-red blur in front of him. Keith. He was calling Shiro's name, while someone moved Shiro into a seated position from behind. He groaned at the grating shift he felt in his chest.

"Shiro, focus!" Keith demanded. "Were you poisoned?"

"No," Shiro said hoarsely. "A-arm."

"Arm?" repeated Lance's voice.

"E… ele…" Shiro groaned at the words not coming. "'Tric… st-stim…"

"Ela tric stim?" Hunk said in confusion.

"Elatric stim…" Lance murmured lowly. "Electric stim-something?"

Shiro forced his stiff chin up in the barest of nods.

"Electric stimulation!" Keith cried. "Shiro!?"

"Paladins!" Coran's voice came from a distance. "Pidge said that Shiro's arm needs to be charged!"

Shiro felt his prosthetic being moved. There was a confused murmur of voices above him while his prosthetic was shifted. Shiro's lungs clenched, making him cough again. He felt someone warm and wet on his lips. The voices above him rose in pitch, panicking about blood.

His body was abruptly lifted, the motion making pain flare in his chest. Shiro cried out with his last breath, then everything went dark.

* * *

The first thing Shiro saw when he opened his eyes, was Keith's moody frown from behind the pod's cover. The boy turned to say something to someone, then the pod released Shiro. Gentle hands grabbed him and helped him sit on the stairs in front of the pod.

Shiro blinked at the group around him. Hunk and Keith braced him from either side. Lance was crouched in front of him, and Coran stood behind him. Allura stood at the console in the center of the pod room.

"Pidge?" Shiro asked, not seeing the smallest paladin.

Lance smirked and nudged Hunk. "Told you that would be the first thing he said."

"Number Five is doing just fine," Coran assured Shiro. He pointed and Shiro turned to see Pidge resting silently in another pod. "She has a couple vargas to go."

At Keith's insistence and after multiple reassurances from Coran, Shiro let himself be coaxed out of the pod room to his room. He put on his clothes, then was dragged to the kitchen for food.

The rest of the team could see that Shiro was distracted. Except to ask about Pidge, Shiro hadn't said another word and he kept glancing at the door. They finally gave up and let Shiro take the food back to the pod room while they waited.

Shiro still didn't speak, even when he was seated in front of the pod again. Lance broke the silence by explaining what had happened when the bounty hunters had taken Shiro and Pidge.

The other paladins hadn't noticed the two absent members, since the plan had been for Shiro and Pidge to hold back the attackers anyway. The rest of the team had escorted the people to safety and it wasn't until they had regrouped at the Castle and found the bounty hunters gone, that they had suspected anything was wrong. The bounty hunters had somehow kept themselves off the scanners, so the team hadn't known where to search until Black and Green had gone berserk and flown off.

Even after Lance explained, Shiro still wouldn't talk. He didn't want to relive the dangers of the day, not until he could really know that Pidge was alright. The others eventually gave up and made idle chatter while they waited for the youngest paladin to wake up.

* * *

A slight hiss caught Shiro's attention. He turned in time to see the pod open.

Allura was right there, and caught Pidge when she stumbled forward. She easily scooped up the girl with the intent of getting her out of the jumpsuit and into her clothes, but paused when she looked at Shiro.

Shiro briefly wondered what his expression must have been for Allura's to soften to obviously, but brushed the thought aside when Pidge was immediately deposited into his lap. He wrapped his arms around Pidge and pulled her close. Still slightly out of it, Pidge mumbled a protest but didn't struggle.

Shiro closed his eyes. He felt Pidge's strong pulse . He could hear her breathing steadily and even. Her arms slowly wrapped around his middle and returned the embrace.

"Shiro?" Pidge said. "I just remembered something."

"What?" Shiro held Pidge back, and saw her making a sour face.

"I _hate_ camping."

Shiro snorted and had to laugh. Pidge quirked up a grin at him, but sobered when she looked down at his prosthetic.

"How is it?"

Shiro lifted the prosthetic and formed a fist. "Back to normal."

Pidge raised her right and made a fist as well. "Same here."

The pair's conversation was interrupted by a muffled sob. They turned to see Hunk trying to cover his mouth while tears streamed from his eyes. Lance was giving him a hard look as he obviously blinked back tears of his own. Coran sniffled loudly, while Keith and Allura both managed to keep their composure.

"What happened?" Keith finally asked.

"I got shot with a crossbow and poisoned," Pidge said.

"That much we knew," Allura said.

"Then why did you ask?" Pidge snipped.

"I am more curious about Shiro," Allura said. "We did not see him get injured when we reviewed the security videos and there was no trace of poison in his system, yet he had three broken ribs-"

"One of which punctured a lung," Keith cut in.

Allura went on as if she hadn't heard, "And his body was responding the same as Pidge. All of your muscles -both of you- were hard. Pidge's was due to the poison I know, but the antidote had no effect on Shiro."

Shiro rubbed his chest with his prosthetic. "Keith, remember those giant lizards we came across when we all got separated in that wormhole?"

"Yeah?" Keith said slowly, then he blinked. "You can't be serious."

"LOVP's?" Lance asked. "Do they have a thing about trying to kill Shiro, or something?"

Shiro shrugged. "Well, one of them almost hit Pidge."

"And you pushed her out of the way," Keith said, sounding tired.

"And it broke your ribs?!" Pidge exclaimed. "You should have said something!"

"There wasn't anything we could have done," Shiro pointed out. "My armor kept the ribs in place, for the most part."

Pidge shook her head. "'For the most part.'"

"We thought Pidge was bad when we saw the blood and knew she was poisoned," Keith said. "But once we gave her the antidote, she started breathing again. We only put her in the pod because she had lost so much blood."

"But we didn't know what was wrong with you, Shiro," Keith continued. "At some point between you getting into Red and being put on the stretcher, one of your lungs was punctured by a broken rib. We put you in the pod, but had to take you back out when your heart stopped."

Shiro's brows raised. He opened his mouth, then grunted when Pidge elbowed him in the gut.

"I told you to not use the energy on me," Pidge said. "At the very least, you should have used some on yourself!"

"Keith kept insisting we electrocute you," Lance added. "It worked. Your heart started going again, so we shoved you into a pod and hoped for the best."

Keith crouched. "What happened, Shiro?"

Shiro glanced at Pidge, who made a "go on" motion. Keith continued to stare at him. He knew something was wrong with Shiro, had since the day he first noticed the band on Shiro's wrist, but had always been too afraid to ask what could be wrong with the man who was always so strong.

Shiro looked away, not wanting to see the team's expressions when he told them the truth about his disease.

"You promised," Pidge reminded him, tucking the back of her head against Shiro's shoulder. "Tell them, or I will."

Shiro smirked and ruffled Pidge's hair, ignoring her squeal of protest. He wrapped his arms around Pidge's comforting warmth on his lap and lifted his head.

He'd tell them about what had happened on the planet. Then, as much as he didn't want to, he'd tell them about his disease.

No more secrets from the team.


End file.
